Heavenly Prize

Summary: Bright academically gifted Jack thinks he has found love but is the lover ready for a surprise? Find out.

Prologue

A Secret

Diary of a young boy

Heavenly Prize

Prologue

Can you imagine my blushes at the invitation to speak? I was astounded, crestfallen, bewitched and all would only partially describe my disposition. I stared into the gasping audience alarmed no less than I by whom my humiliation seemed so imminent that my vision swayed from left to right and into space. Time froze, and I suddenly felt too small for such grand prizes, and the prizes almost slipped out of my hand.

I narrowly prevented a mighty crash of glass and metal, as the principal moved to the centre of the stage assuming an authoritative position to calm the roaring audience. “A few words from the student,” and brought me to the microphone. I was not prepared for this. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. I wasn’t even sure where to start. Hence, my nerves getting the better of me.

Out of my blurred vision I could see heads and some faces and mostly haze. I thought of erupting volcanoes. Fancy being at the edge of an advancing cloud of dust in its commencement of slow expansion that you know beneath its apparently puffy mellow surface is rushing at you in every direction. The silence felt so chilling that a drape of cold air brushed past my face and my cheeks burned which seemed terribly ironic. Why I kept thinking of huge waves leaping at me, I do not recall.

I managed to grip the prizes into my hands and blabbered something like, “Thank you everyone.”

Blast, what a clumsy way to start a speech with an ending note. The audience looked blacked out, bemused at best, and so unnerving; I thought everyone even including me was disconcerted at my shocking start causing most possibly a visible imbalance in my countenance. I felt the whole stage tilted to one side causing me loss of balance. Once in a lifetime opportunity and I am just about to blow it in a casual way akin to careless losers. Get a grip on it I wanted to yell to myself. Instead I swallowed some air. So, I quickly added, “for your unrelenting support.”

Silence still gripped the whole ground. My mouth opened, and this came out, “a big thank you to the teachers for their guidance, and to the school faculties for just giving me a chance, finally making me worthy of these presents. The prize belongs to the school.”

Ok, strung few words together at last with some relief. The heat from my face began to fade, and I felt normal. Who else can I thank? The gatekeeper, for letting me into the school every day? The coach, for allowing me into the playground, or the bell ringer for finishing each period on time, the gardener, the stationery stall. I really ran out of options. Silence befell upon the onlookers with such immensity that I remained the only person with some voice. Everyone on the stage looked serious. The principle gave such a frown to the air. And ‘Peter,’ he had been saying “how very proud of me he is.” Now he can say the same when we are gently pushed off the stage, and I am already feeling slightly downgraded. What about thanking Peter? Surely it is in order. I brought some well justified balance into my voice and spoke thus, “and a special thank you to my guardian angles for giving me the courage and the strength to never fear a daunting chapter, never to be alarmed at a complex equation, and always be prepared to push the boundaries of research.”

That is much better. Now best to end with a nice finishing note and get off the stage holding my head high. Here it comes. “Thank you all once again. I love you all.”

That didn’t sound so bad after all. The crowd gave a full throttle to its roar, and clapped whole heartedly. I finally breathed and looked up to Peter. He was staring ahead with the best smile forward. I wanted to give him a high five.

Jaslyn:
I loved reading this so much!! The transformation of Nina's self-esteem was incredible to read, and while I was rooting for Parker halfway through, I was very satisfied when Harrison and Nina finally got everything straight. The side characters were adorable - I especially loved Anna, Richel, Mic...

CornflowerBlues:
I'm liking everything about this story so far: the brazen detective, the way he gave in to temptation, the temptation (<3!!), and the unexpectedly complex backdrop of his job and the case he's working. The story is well written, and despite its erotica tag, has an intriguing detective story and a...

Rebeccaseal:
This was an almost perfect story that I would recommend to anyone. The only thing I would work on is painting a more realistic picture of Haiathiel. Somehow the environment seemed limited, and the land itself a bit unfinished. This can be solved simply by added descriptions to people and places. ...

jasminedazz:
A very cute short story with a good balance of all elements. The writing is quite detailed giving a visual image of what is being read which quite a commendable quality in writing. Just a small pattern that I have noticed is that there is no paragraph breaker between events that have elapsed time...

summerstone:
Seriously this is one of the best books I've ever read. The plot is intriguing, I love the narrative style. Its very descriptive and unique, with minimal cliches. It makes for a great read and the sequels are amazing. Totally worth reading. ^^ That's me trying to be professional. But in all hones...

Beloved Q Medina:
At first I figured it was another genre fiction book and didn't have any expectations, but by the first few chapters I found myself engrossed in Sid's journey. Some say that genre fiction is predictable, or not as substantial as literary fiction, but this novel was anything but that. I found myse...

:
This is by far the best story i've read on this app. Would like to see more of their after-marriage life, though, and would like to see Andrew more "out of control"The grammar, the author's writing style, all and all, are pretty much like in an already published book. I love how the author descri...